Harry Potter and the Ascension
by Merlindamage
Summary: Ten years after the defeat of Voldemort, Harry and his friends have settled into new lives while still remaining together. A darkness over the horizion looms and threatens the wizarding world. This new evil is more ruthless than Voldemort and will stop at
1. Prolouge

Prologue 

The world had changed.

It had been ten years since the defeat of Voldemort. Ten years since the golden trio had graduated. Ten years since the Great Battle of Hogwarts.

The world had changed.

Harry Potter had never been a normal. He was a wizard, which for some made him strange enough, but even by wizarding standards, Harry Potter was not normal. He had been attacked when he was only a year old by the darkest of all the dark wizards to threaten the wizarding world, Lord Voldemort. The Dark Lord, as he was known by his followers, had attacked Harry and left him with a lightning blot shaped scar on his forehead. This scar was both a mark of power, and a connection, binding him to Voldemort as long as the both of them lived.

When Harry Potter was 11 years old, he entered Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He met his two best friends, Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger, and the three of them forged a bond of friendship that could not be broken, despite their many arguments. Harry faced off against Voldemort in the guise of his Defense against the Dark Arts professor, Professor Quirrell. The Dark Lord had possessed the man in an attempt to gain the Sorcerer's Stone, a stone that allows its possessor to have immortal life. Harry, along with the help of his two friends, thwarted his plot, and in the process he angered Voldemort.

The Boy Who Lived then turned 12 years old, and entered his second year. He came back that year with a warning that terrible things would happen when he went back to school. After a number of strange occurrences and people becoming petrified, Harry learned that Voldemort was once again behind this plot. In his prior form of Tom Marvolo Riddle, he possessed Ron's little sister, Ginny, and was trying to use her to bring himself back from a memory. Once again, he was stopped.

In his third year, Harry learned that an escaped murderer was coming to kill him. After learning that this man, Sirius Black, was the one who betrayed his parents and caused their deaths, Harry became hell bent on killing him. However, he soon learned that a once thought dead Peter Pettigrew was actually the real culprit. After quite a bit of struggling that almost cost Sirius his life, Peter escaped and Lord Voldemort got his most loyal servant back.

Fourth year brought about the Triwizard tournament. It was a contest that took place between the three largest European magical schools. Someone had entered Harry's name under the guise of a fourth school. He was forced to compete in the tournament, and had a chance to win when an act of nobility caused him to tie with Cedric Diggory. The two of them were transported to a graveyard where Cedric was killed, and Harry was forced to take part in Voldemort's resurrection.

In his fifth year, Harry's world changed once more. The Ministry of Magic decided to snoop around at Hogwarts. To spy on the school, they sent in Dolores Jane Umbridge, to become the Hogwarts High Inquisitor. This woman began to deprive Harry of all the things he held near to him, Defense Against The Dark Arts, Hagrid, and Quidditch. Harry then decided to start a group called Dumbledore's Army. They were going to learn spells in case of any emergency, now that Voldemort had returned. Because of the name of the group, Dumbledore had to abandon the school. After taking his O.W.Ls, Harry had a vision that Sirius was being held in the Department of Mysteries. He and some of his friends journeyed there only to find that he had been tricked. A battle ensued between them and the Death Eaters, and in the end, Sirius was dead. Harry then learned the reason that Voldemort wanted to kill him as a baby was because of a prophecy that stated that either one of them would have to kill the other.

By sixth year, the world had changed. The wizarding world was now very aware that Voldemort had returned. Harry became the lone voice of reason, trying to convince all those around him that a plot was brewing between Draco Malfoy and Snape. He also learned that the key to defeating Voldemort lied in destroying his Horcruxes, magical items used to conceal a part of a persons soul. In the end, Harry wished that everyone had listened to him. Malfoy was supposed to kill Dumbledore so that he could redeem his father. Snape ended up doing the job and Harry vowed to seek revenge for his mentor and friend.

Seventh year came. Rather, it should have came. Harry decided not to return for this year, and in the end he knew that this was all a part of Albus Dumbledore's grand plan. He went off in search of the Horcruxes and forced himself to be unhappy so that he could stay determined. Despite Hermione and Ron announcing that they had finally gotten together. Harry found the Horcruxes and destroyed them, and in the end, he returned to Hogwarts to finish it. Voldemort and Harry faced off and in the biggest battle of all time. Around them, everyone else battled relentlessly. When Harry believed himself to be defeated, fate intervened and sent Peter Pettigrew in to return his debt to Harry. He caught a killing curse for the boy. Harry received another shock. Severus Snape, Dumbledore's murderer, was aiding his former allies in The Order of The Phoenix. The battle continued on and in the end, Harry won. He blocked the killing curse by conjuring a shield that represented the love of his friends and family.

It had been ten years since this had happened.

"Harry, you have to get up," yelled Ginny. She shook the large man vigorously. He stirred in the bed. "Harry James Potter, you have to get up. You know how dangerous my bat-bogey hex can be."

At hearing these words, the emerald-eyed man began to sit up in the bed. He wiped the sleep from his eyes and looked around the room.

"Ginny, what are you doing here?" Harry asked.

"Mum asked me to come over and check on you. Ron said you hadn't been to work at all this week and she was getting worried," Ginny explained, handing Harry a cup of coffee.

"How'd you get in? You don't have a key," he wondered.

"Mum gave me hers for the day. She didn't know whether you were here, and of course, you've got this place magically sealed from everything as if it were Hogwarts," she joked. "So?"

"So what?" he looked at her.

"So, why haven't you been to work this week? Its Friday Harry and I know that you may be one of the top aurors, but that still doesn't give you the right to just skive off of work."

"It is my life, I do have a right to do what I want."

"Look here Potter," she began dangerously, "I did not come here for my own personal vendettas. My mother asked me to come and check on you, and that's what I did. So, I've checked on you and I can see that you are fine, despite you being a pompous jackass. I have done my good deed for the day, so I'll see you later."

Ginny turned on her heels and exited the room. Harry heard her slam the front door and soon after, he heard a loud crack signaling that she had apparated.

He had not realized that it had been that long since he had been to work. He had not felt like going in to the office this week at all. It seemed strange to him, that the job that he had most wanted when he was in school now did not seem that rewarding to him.

The room was dark and covered in a thick mist. A singular light shown dimly on a large chair in which a man was perched. He was wearing a black robe that hung loosely over his body. Kneeling in front of him was a man with a large scar going across the length of his face extending from his forehead, over his right eye to his chin.

"I want it done," the man in the chair began, "I want it done now."

"Yes, sir," the kneeling man replied.

"Make sure that they know that it was us. One day, Potter and his lot will pay for killing our former master. I personally will take Potter out of this life, but for now, we have to set the chain of events in motion. I have faith in you, Draco, do not fail me," the man in the chair sat back as the kneeling Draco nodded.

Draco put on his cloak and with a small pop, he vanished. The man in the chair looked around him, staring off into the darkness.

"So, it begins again," he said and smiled a dangerously maniacal smile.

Harry entered the office and sat down at his desk. The desk was very messy. Papers were all about the desk. Small tidbits of things could be seen all over. No sooner had he gotten comfortable, a memo dropped itself on his desk. He sighed heavily before opening it.

To: Harry Potter, Head Aurror, Level Two 

_From: The Desk of Arthur Weasley, Minister of Magic_

_Mr. Potter,_

The Minister of Magic is having a press conference tomorrow afternoon at one o'clock in the Atrium of the building. Your presence is requested as a guard and speaker on behalf of the Minister. Please respond to confirm that you will be there.

Harry quickly scribbled a note saying that he would be there and sent it back to Arthur. Mr. Weasley had raised quickly after the defeat of Voldemort. It seemed that since the Order had become exposed, they had all become somewhat of celebrities. Although some deemed Arthur to be a bit to "eccentric" for the position, he seemed to be exactly what the world needed after having two bad Minister's one after another.

"Harry," came the voice of Ron, snapping Harry from his thoughts.

"Hey Ron," Harry responded.

"Where the hell have you been this week? It's been hectic around here. Strange disappearances and whatnot."

"Ron, I've been feeling a bit under the weather," Harry lied quickly. He then decided to change the subject. "So, what's been going on with these people disappearing?"

"You know," Ron began, "if you'd ever clean up the damn desk, you'd be able to find something every now and then."

"What the hell do I need to clean for when I have you to tell me what's going on?" Harry mused.

Ron gave a half-hearted laugh. "Funny man. Anyway, there's been six people. Three of them in London. Two in Ottery St. Catchpole. The last one vanished right from St. Mungo's. It all happened last weekend between Saturday and Sunday. They don't seem to be related, but we think that there's some sort of connection that we haven't seen yet."

Harry placed his hands on his chin and thought for a moment. "What are their names?" he asked.

"In London, there was Diana Spike, Louis Lockhead, and James Elgid. From Ottery St. Catchpole, there was Daniel Hughes and Samuel Lovegood. From St. Mungo's, the blokes name was Jim Riley."

"Did you say Lovegood?" Harry asked, turning to face Ron.

"Yeah, it was Luna's father. We've already talked to her, but she's not much help. She seemed to believe that the Crumple Horned Snorkack's took him away for a while because he had written another expose on them. I tell you that girl is never going to change."

"So, are there any leads yet?"

"No, nothing. As a matter of fact, we'd kill for nothing. We have less than that," Ron looked at him seriously. "Harry, the strangest thing about it is the fact that they all vanished without a trace. Its like, one minute they were there and the next, they weren't. Luna was in the house with her father and was in the next room. She didn't hear anything. He was using his quill and when we got there, it looked like he had vanished mid-sentence."

"Okay, put someone on it. We have to try and figure out how to get at this one. If there is a link between them all, someone has to find it.

"Okay, I'll put someone on it right away," Ron turned to leave. "Oh yeah, before I forget, Hermione's cooking tonight and she's inviting you over for dinner. It's a six, so make sure you're there on time."

Harry opened his mouth to object, only to be met with Ron's hand.

"She said she's not taking no for an answer. See you then mate."

The rest of the day went by quickly. Harry finally organized his desk and signed off on a few minor things. The hunt for Death Eaters continued even now. Even though Voldemort had been defeated over a decade ago, his followers still caused a bit of havoc and mayhem every now an then.

At five o'clock, Harry exited his office. Instead of just apparating home as he had done every other day, he headed downstairs. He stood in front of the door that led to the Department of Mysteries and stared at it. He so wanted to go back to the veil where Sirius had vanished so many years ago. It had hurt him terribly when he was killed, and he remembered it as though it were yesterday when Bellatrix Lestrange was captured. It was the day of the Battle of Hogwarts, and it had been Neville who had finally bested the woman.

Harry sighed and with a pop he vanished and returned home.

The next afternoon came. It was an hour before the press conference was due to start. Harry was gathered along with Arthur, Molly, and Ron Weasley in Arthur's office.

"Mr. Weasley, what exactly is the press conference for?" Harry asked.

Mr. Weasley sipped from his goblet. "Its just another one of my basic updates. I actually enjoy giving them to the public. Consider it the State of the Magical Community Address."

"Oh. I thought it was something serious. Well, we might as well get a move on, its getting closer and closer to one," Harry stated.

The foursome made their way to the atrium where a large crowd had gathered. Cameras and Quick Quotes Quills were seen everywhere. The cameras started flashing as soon as the elevator door opened. They made their way to the podium and Mr. Weasley began to address the gathered crowd.

Harry began to zone off. He was paying no attention to Mr. Weasley. He had not meant to do it, but nowadays, it seemed as though he could not focus much on anything. Something was missing from his life, but he could not pinpoint exactly what it was. He was snapped from his confusion by a murmuring from the back of the crowd.

"It's not right!" someone had yelled. The crowd parted and revealed a man in his 50's with a black and white beard. "You people let some god damned muggle lover become out Minister of Magic. I'd rather die than continue seeing him on top,"

"Sir, settle down or you'll be asked to leave," Ron warned, drawing his wand.

"To hell with you," the man yelled. In an instant, he drew his wand and pointed it at Mr. Weasley. He yelled a spell and a green jet of light whooshed towards him. Harry grabbed Arthur and threw him to the floor. The spell hit the podium which promptly burst into flames.

After Harry stood back up and looked around, he saw that Ron had already stunned the man and had him tied up. Mr. Weasley stood and looked around.

"Well, I didn't expect that. Some people are never going to get over this. You would have thought with me being Minister of Magic for all these years that-" Mr. Weasley paused. He looked to Harry with a grateful look in his eye. He then turned to his wife and smiled weakly. He grabbed at his throat as though some unseen force was choking him. He then collapsed into Harry's arms.

"ARTHUR?" Molly had screamed. Harry lay him down on the floor and felt for a pulse. There was none. Tears welled up in Molly's eyes as she cried over him. Harry stood and picked up Arthur's goblet. He smelled it and smelled more than just the normal Butterbeer.

"Ron!" Hey yelled. "Get someone from St. Mungo's here quick. Its your dad, he needs help. Someone, come and analyze this, I think the Minister has been poisoned."

Harry's heart dropped. Although the Healers were there now, he knew it was too late. He stared into Mr. Weasley's eyes and saw something that he had seen far too many times in other people's eyes; death.


	2. Chapter 1: Grave

**Author's Note: **I don't like this chapter that much. However, it does move the characters along and it reveals who the man with the scar was. By the way…I've been getting private messages from people who read the story and would like to see me write a prequel because they'd like to see the Battle of Hogwarts. People…I have to finish this story before I start the next one.

Chapter One: Grave

**_Funeral of Fallen Minister, Arthur Weasley to take place Today_**

_Four days ago, the very celebrated Minister of Magic, Arthur Weasley, was assassinated at a press conference he was holding. After an attack on his life by a man with a yet to be released name, the Minister soon stood, only to collapse again. Harry Potter, senior auror, was there tending to his old friend and superior._

_After the collapse, Harry Potter, was the one who called for St. Mungo's healers. He then ordered someone to come down and tend to the goblet that the Minister was drinking from. He seemed to believe that the goblet had been poisoned somehow. _

_Before Healers could arrive however, the Minister had already passed on. It was a sad day for the magical community, and marked the 5th time in all history that a Minister of Magic had been removed from office by being killed_

_For more on Arthur's rise to power, see page 7. _

_-----------------------------------------------------------_

What can be said about funeral services? Harry thought to himself. Could you ever actually say that it was nice, considering someone had to die for it to happen? Harry continued thinking as he clutched Ginny's hand while they entered the Burrow.

Mr. Weasley had been assassinated days prior to the funeral. Someone had poisoned him his goblet and he had collapsed at a press conference. It seemed that whoever had done it had known exactly how much to use, as to place just enough so that Arthur would die at the press conference. There had yet to be any leads. Mrs. Weasley had given her husband the goblet, yet no one had been able to trace who it was that had poured it.

So many people had come to his funeral. Mr. Weasley had been a very well known and well liked person in the magical community.

Hermione and Ron had taken it upon themselves to make the arrangements. No one expected Mrs. Weasley to do it, as she had become too distraught and seemed to cry about everything. She began to hash up old memories and at times, Ron told Harry that he had caught her crying over some of Percy's old things. The elder Weasley had been killed soon before the Battle of Hogwarts by Lucius Malfoy. It happened on a raid of the Ministry of Magic. Mrs. Weasley seemed to have lost all will to go on, but still, somehow she forced herself to. It was a wonder to Harry that Ron and Hermione found anytime to do anything. Ron was Harry's second in command at the Aurror office, and Hermione had become a full time Charms Professor and head of Gryffindor House at Hogwarts.

Among those that attended, there were some of the trio's former classmates. Neville and his wife of 4 years, Luna Lovegood came. Luna still did not seem very concerned that her father had vanished without a trace. In fact, she seemed to believe that it was for the best, as to help her combat a large swarm of Hungarian Jungle Flies she would need to have the house to herself. She and Neville lived together, happily in London. Neville had started working at St. Mungo's 3 years ago. He was their lead Botanist for potion making. Luna had become the editor-in chief for The Quibbler. Seamus Finnegan and Dean Thomas came to pay their respects. The duo had both become Charm Breakers for Gringott's and had apparated back in from Spain for the services.

The surviving members of the Order of The Phoenix had came to honor their friend's memory. A very pregnant Tonks and her husband Remus came. They brought their child, and Harry's godchild, James Sirius Lupin. He was nine years old, and seemed to be a younger version of his father. Although, it seemed that he had inherited his mother's gift. The boy seemed to have no control over his power though. His hair regularly changed color depending on his mood. Professor McGonagall showed up, despite relying heavily on her walking stick. The Headmistress of Hogwarts had never fully recovered from the night when she had defended Hagrid against Dolores Jane Umbridge. Speaking of Hagrid, the tall man had came with Olympe. The two had stayed together for many years. Hagrid was crying and wiped his nose with an extremely large handkerchief. He and Madame Maxine were asked to sit in the back, as to not block anyone's view. Both Charlie and Bill Weasley had returned for the funeral, but neither could stay afterwards because of work.

The mood in the Burrow had definitely become somber. There was no one there except for the closest family and friends of the Weasleys. Fred and George, along with their wives, were sitting in the family room with everyone else. Mrs. Weasley had retreated back to her room, claiming she needed to be alone.

Harry and Ginny sat on a couch with Ron and Hermione. There were tears silently streaming down Ron's face and Hermione, although crying herself, wiped them away.

"I…I can't believe that we just buried Mr. Weasley," Harry stammered.

"None of us can," said Ginny. "Harry, are there any leads yet?"

"No, none whatsoever. Its as though the goblet just appeared and whoever poured it just disappeared."

"Harry," Hermione began weakly. "do you think that its all related?"

"What?" Harry asked, turning to look at his friend.

"All those people disappearing and now this. Maybe its all connected."

"I think it could be, but as of right now, there's nothing to make us think so."

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The man in the chair was smiling like a mad man. He appeared to be very pleased, and every part of his face showed it. The man with the scar was standing before him. His face was like a rock, showing no emotion and still as stone.

"I am very pleased with you," the man in the chair stated.

"Thank you, my lord. It pleases me to be in your favor."

"Well, now that phase one has been completed, I find that it would be best to continue on. With things flowing smoothly, I believe that we will win. However, I need another thing done."

"Anything, sir."

"No, not by you. This task is one too trivial for you. I need an army, and I need people recruited. I'd like to have the old crowd, as well as new people."

"Who will gather them for you?"

"I have someone. She and you will soon become very familiar with one another. But, I do have another mission for you. However, it cannot be done now. Someone with your…skills…is in very high demand right now. I cant risk you getting caught."

"I wont get caught sir, I need to do it. I want to redeem myself for our former master."

"Your father would be very proud of you, Draco."

Despite having the disfiguring scar, Draco smiled.

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By this time, a month had passed since the funeral. Although Arthur had left a void that could never be filled, his friends and family soon began to return to something resembling normalcy.

The Ministry of Magic had needed a new Minister of Magic. The Wizengamot had to be summoned so that a new Minister could be voted it. It was finally decided that a highly recommended person named Juniper Hodge would take the position.

Juniper Hodge was in his late 60's. He had risen quickly in the Ministry in his youth and was well known.

No one had expected Mrs. Weasley to ever return completely to normal. Indeed, she did not disappoint. She had stopped crying over just the mention of Arthur or Percy, but now she had turned into someone completely different.


End file.
